Verizon’s FiOS 300 Mbps Upgrade for $204.99

Just the other day I posted some news about Verizon’s new FiOS speeds being introduced this month. Their bandwidth is going to double in size (literally) from 150 Mbps to 300 Mbps. They already had the fastest speeds, beating Comcast (105 Mbps) and AT&T (24 Mbps) by a long shot. But they’re widening the gap even further.

However, what wasn’t known the other day was the prices for each tier. Currently, the 150 Mbps tier goes for $199.99 per month. My guess was that the new 300 Mbps tier would run about $250 per month. I didn’t think they’d bother changing the prices for the 150 Mbps tier, and would make subtle changes to the tiers below it that increased in size.

I was wrong though.

Surprisingly (to me, at least), Verizon is going to offer the 300 Mbps package for $204.99, only $5 more than the current tier with speeds half as fast. The 150 Mbps tier will drop down to $94.99.

Here are what the rest of the new speeds/prices will look like:

3/1 – $54.99

15/5 – $64.99

50/25 – $74.99

75/35 – $84.99

150/65 – $94.99

300/65 – $204.99

These prices are assuming you sign up for a 2 year contract. If not, each plan will cost $5 more. The top two tiers will also require that you upgrade your equipment for $100. It’s expected that this will apply to most people, even those already on a 150 Mbps plan.

Overall, the prices haven’t changed much. The 15/5 tier increased by $10 (currently $54.99), but the 50/25 and 150/65 tiers cost as much as their (current) counterparts. And the 75/35 fits right between those two.

The prices are more expensive than other providers, and of course the speeds are plenty more than any person or family would need. To put that into perspective, I have internet speeds of less than 20 Mbps, and I work from home on the computer all day, ever day, with the need to consume all kinds of content (videos, email, tons of websites, etc).

With that said, I really like the way The Verge’s Dante D’Orazio summarizes the new prices:

It’s akin to the prices for popcorn at the movie theater — if you want any, you’ll need to pay quite a bit, and then you can get twice as much for only a bit more.